Question: Do you give Easter Presents?

Like everyone, Greg and I both brought our own sets of assumptions about any number of things to our new roles as parents with the arrival of Thomas. One of the first times that we noticed a difference in our assumptions was during our Easter planning. For Thomas, I expected Easter to include (though obviously not this year as he's too little) chocolate eggs and a present from the Easter Bunny, while Greg expected it to include chocolate and an egg hunt. Does the Easter Bunny bring presents to your house? Beyond birthdays and Christmas (if you celebrate it), on what other special occasions, if any, do you give gifts to your children? Valentine's Day? The Last Day of School? Thanksgiving? Upon returning from a work trip? I'm so curious!

While we're happy to give gifts to our son regularly and for no reason at all, we're keen to minimize the occassions where others in our family and near to us feel pressure to give gifts to our little man. Instead, we've asked them to make donations to our local food bank in his honour (we did this for his Christening and plan to do so again for his first birthday). Once Thomas is older, we'll ask him whether he wants to continue the food bank tradition.

As we look forward to this next holiday, I'm excited to think about how we can put our own stamp on Easter and make it something special and unique for our family and our son. Image via The Foodie's Kitchen.

Fun Toppings for Pancakes

Today's Shrove Tuesday, which is the perfect time to share some fun toppings, in addition to the always delicious maple syrup, if you're planning on indulging in pancakes for dinner or lunch (or both)!

Jams - I'll be serving pancakes topped with homemade bakeapple jam (have you ever had bakeapples? They're delicious!). You could also use raspberry, blueberry or strawberry jam, and if available, finish with a few fresh berries on top!

Icing Sugar - Simple and sweet, powdered sugar is delicious on pancakes.

Chocolate chips - A childhood favourite, these go great in the batter or melted on top. This is perfect if you're serving the pancakes as dessert instead of as a main course.

Lemon or Lime Juice - If you have a sour tooth, this would be perfect.

Fresh Peaches or Other Fruit - Fresh fruit is a perfect addition to whipped cream.

Greek Yoghurt - Everyone seems to be eating this now, so why not try it on some pancakes?

Nutella - Need I say more? Nom nom!

Photo of pancake stack by Girly Girl.

What to Wear on Valentine's Day: Romantic Dinner

If fine dining is part of your Valentine's Day plans, perhaps an ensemble like this would suit? Dress by The Look, clutch by Tory Burch, booties by Designers Remix Signature and coat by Miu Miu.

What to Wear on Valentine's Day: Casual Date

Seasonal, yet sophisticated, here's the perfect solution for an unconventional, but fun Valentine's date, like bowling and a curry buffet. Cigarette pants by Joseph, studs by J Crew, sequined bag by Red Valentino, pink flats by Bottega Veneta and heart sweater by Sonia Rykiel.

Valentines

Have I mentioned that I know a circle of very fabulous moms? I'm talking women that run half marathons, mentor young girls through the Guiding movement and submit PhD dissertations while on maternity leave. Meanwhile, I'm just getting to a place where I can consistently do the dishes in a day while caring for my son.

This week, a few of us swapped valentines from our kids as mementos for memory boxes and scrapbooks. To my horror, I was the only mom with store-bought cards. All the others had beautifully handmade cards that clearly took a lot of time to construct. It was hard not to feel deflated (being competitive is one of my negative traits).

Upon reflection, I might never be a mom who seems to be able to find the time to make homemade valentines (I don't think I've made a homemade card since elementary school), but I have found a middle ground -- free DIY printable valentines! Here is a great roundup of free DIY printable valentines for personal use. Instructions for the Valentine above can be found at Alpha Mom.

Valentine's Day Contest

Dear Lovely Readers,

For fun, our sweet Thomas Walter, has entered into a Valentine's Day photo contest with a local boutique -- Bellies and Bundles. We'd love it if you'd click here, and 'like' our photo. The photo with the most 'likes' wins a gift basket!

Thank you,

Katie and Greg and Thomas xo

Heart Scarf

What a beautiful scarf for Valentine's Day and 5 ways to wear it! xo

Cities

In honour of Canada Day, here are some beautiful prints of some of our beautiful cities! xo Canada map via the pixel prince.

Edmonton via birdAve.

Vancouver via Marissa Madori.

Toronto via Freshy Photo Arts.

Halifax via breeree.

St. John's via Catorart.

Burger

Wow. What a delicious-looking burger to enjoy this holiday weekend! Recipe available at Design*Sponge.

Happy New Year!

Welcome to 2011!

We've had a sleepy start to the new year here, but we're smiling and organizing and making plans to eat food with family later and catch the postponed fireworks at Quidi Vidi Lake. How did you ring in 2011? Greg and I enjoyed a delicious meal at Aqua (it was our first time there and highly recommend it!) and then sipped drinks with friends at midnight at a party. It's sunny, and the ground is covered in a beautiful white blanket, and tiny birds have been dancing on our deck all morning. Bliss.

There's a lot of promise for this year, and so many things to look forward to. I hope you find health, happiness and joy in 2011! xoxo Image of Signal Hill via Samantha Ellis.

Resolutions

With one day left in 2010 (eek! where does time go?), I've this wee list of resolutions for 2011.

• Maintain my new habit of always putting away my clothes
• Walk every day (even if it is just around my office complex)
• Allocate time every day to relax (I tend to burn my candle at both ends)
• Spend less time watching tv and surfing the net, and more time reading and cooking

Image via Maquette.

Merry Christmas

Happy Christmas, my lovely readers. Wishing you all a very happy holidays with plenty of joy in the New Year.

NYE

Our plans (which finally took shape today) include a gourmet dinner at a location that is a surprise for my husband, my favourite French Connection dress and a party with friends to cap off the evening. How will you be celebrating the arrival of 2011? Isn't this photo of New Years Eve fireworks around Quidi Vidi Lake (near our house) amazing?

Mummers

Tonight is date night at the Clarke household, and we're kicking off our formal Christmas celebrations with paninis and a public lecture on mummering at The Rooms. Images of last year's St. John's Annual Mummer's Parade via Bojan.

Groceries

My holiday grocery list is starting to shape up. I like to have ingredients on hand for delicious, but simple, appetizers. For collection?

• Inniskill's Dry Riesling with notes of peach and lime
• Yellowtail Pinot Grisio
• Miguel Torres Coronas, a red, to pair with hard cheeses
• Pitted dates, almonds, bacon and blue cheese for bacon-wrapped dates
• Chocolate covered raisins
• Mushrooms, baby spinach and Gruyere for stuffed mushrooms
• Heirloom tomatoes to dip in balsamic vinegar
• Prosciutto

Do you have any must keep items that help you get through the holidays? I'm so curious. Grocery tote via Mint Lane.

Pumpkins

This year, I completely forgot to buy and carve a pumpkin. Sad. To make up for it, I'm already planning to go all out with gilded gold pumpkins next year a la Twig and Thistle at 100 Circular.

Halloween

How are you celebrating this October 31? I've been toiling away all week on our sushi and soy sauce costumes (photos forthcoming) for a fete ce soir, while we have plans to enjoy butternut squash soup with family for lunch tomorrow and hand out mini chocolate bars to the neighbourhood children tomorrow evening.

Another great idea would be to spend the day baking a medusa cake or spider petits fours. Image via Neato Coolville.

Treats

So, yesterday I purchased our Halloween candy at the supermarket, and I'd love to hand them out from these dispensers or in these bags.

Regatta

Here's to hoping that the Royal St. John's Regatta goes ahead tomorrow. I love that my hometown has a floating statutory holiday! So quirky and fun! Image via Planet Smasher.

P.S. Update at 8:00 am August 4, it's off to the races, folks!

Port Rexton

We've booked a mini-vacation for late August to the homeland of my paternal family - the Bonavista Peninsula in Trinity Bay. Traveling with my brother and his lovely girlfriend, we'll spend an overnight in Devil's Cove, Port Rexton and will take mini road trips to Trinity and Bonavista. The only decision that remains is whether we want to try a seasonal, local, fixed menu at The Fisher's Loft or at The Twine Loft at Artisan Inn. With a constitutional expert for a husband, Greg will be no doubt excited to see the first court house in North America in Trinity while I love having a mini-holiday to look forward to.